On October 26, 2010, the former lead singer of punk/new wave legends The Stranglers, Hugh Cornwell played two intimate shows at New York’s Mercury Lounge. I caught the first set and I loved it. He mixed in solo material with Stranglers greatest hits and then after a short intermission, he performed the Stranglers album “Rattus Norvegicus IV” in its entirety! The band only consisted of 3 members and all three played the sh-t out of their instruments. I was so fascinated by the drummer who was drumming so fast and he made it look effortless.

I met Hugh Cornwell before the show and a photo of that encounter will be coming soon, so stay tuned. There was no setlist posted, so Hugh die-hards, help us out…. I recall the first few songs were “Nice n’ Sleazy,” “Going to the City,” “Dreadful Nightmares” and “Rain on the River.” It was really cool to see so many fans packed into the Mercury Lounge to show Hugh some love. When someone shouted out a song request in between songs, Hugh told the crowd “take the hamburgers out of your mouth before you speak.” Loved it!